Have you ever wondered what the Church is like in another country? Or maybe you’re a lay person who is thinking of getting involved somehow in the future in a foreign mission. Or, perhaps you are a priest like me, retiring but full of energy and wanting to begin an exciting new chapter in his life as a missionary priest! Well, how about coming to my parish for a mission retreat? I’d love to have you!
A mission retreat can be thought of as sort of a campout (though you won’t be camping outdoors!), vacation, spiritual retreat, and cross-cultural immersion experience.
I have created a small retreat center campus called Holy Cross here in Reitoca, F.M., Honduras. On the campus, there are two totally modern casitas – or little houses – for guests. Each casita is named after a missionary hero of Central America. The green house is named after St. Oscar Romero, martyr of El Salvador, and the yellow house is named after Blessed Stanley Rother, a priest of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City who was martyred in Guatemala.
Each casita has two full-size beds, air conditioning, a beautiful modern bathroom with hot showers, closet, television, and a kitchenette with a refrigerator, stove, microwave, sink, counter, cupboards, dinnerware, kitchen table, and chairs. And, each casita has a covered porch for relaxing.
You are also invited to relax on the beautiful deck of the Four Martyrs House, the house where I live and which is dedicated to the memory of four women martyrs of El Salvador: Maryknoll Sisters Ita Ford and Maura Clarke, Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel, and lay missioner Jean Donovan.
Anyone coming for a retreat on Holy Cross campus will have a casita to themselves unless you want to be with another person.
Because of the rugged terrain, I’d advise only adults come to visit. Also, we are not handicapped-accessible. You need to be able to get in and out of a pickup truck, do steps, and walk short distances.
Reitoca is deep in the mountains of southern Honduras, and it is almost always hot. I like to say we have two seasons – hot and hotter.
So, what would you do if you came for a 5-day or 7-day retreat?
A driver and I would pick you up at the airport in Tegucigalpa, TGU, the capital of Honduras. Our airport is called Toncontín, and its letters are TGU. We’ll then take you to lunch and then drive to the Holy Cross campus, two hours from Tegucigalpa.
Once on the campus, the schedule is flexible. The only set things we’d do each day is to travel to one of the churches of the parish – and we have 87 churches! – to celebrate Mass. In the evenings, we’ll gather to share experiences, have a dinner, and socialize. All of your transportation and meals are provided.
We’ll also have opportunities to visit the healthcare projects of our parish and some of the larger churches of our parish, many of which are a 2-hour drive from Reitoca.
You’ll also get to visit the magnificent Basilica of Our Lady of Suyapa, patron saint of the country. The virgin is also the head of the Honduran Armed Forces.
If you’d like, we will also visit the Valley of Angels (Valle de Ángeles), a Honduran arts-and-crafts community, and we’ll swing by Three Roses (Tres Rosas), the retreat center of the Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa of which our parish is part. [See “Our Parish” to learn more about the fascinating parish of San Francisco de Asís where you’ll be visiting.]
To visit, you need to dress comfortably, but adults don’t wear shorts to church. On the Holy Cross campus, anything is fine to wear. Jeans and cotton shirts are great. Men should have baseball caps or cowboy hats, and women often use umbrellas to protect themselves the brutal Central American sun. Because the parish is almost 250 square miles, there are different climates of the parish, so you should bring a long-sleeve shirt in case you get cold if we travel to a cooler climate. Plus, the planes are often chilly. There is no need to dress in anything fancy! Tennis shoes are a good idea.
There are no medicines you need to take before coming to Honduras, and you’ll get a visa on the plane. From Atlanta on Delta, it’s a 3-hour flight to Tegucigalpa. You’ll be here for lunch!
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